Whitecaps FC Residency program partners with University Hill Secondary School

May 23, 201311:51 AM PDT

VANCOUVER, BC – Vancouver Whitecaps FC are pleased to announce that University Hill Secondary School on the campus of the University of British Columbia (UBC) will become the academic home for the club’s full-time Residency program. Players will begin attending University Hill Secondary in time for the 2013-14 school year starting this coming September.

“We’re thrilled to partner with an excellent school like University Hill,” said Dan Lenarduzzi, Whitecaps FC director of soccer development. “Our Residency program is fully committed to developing players both on and off the field, and their education is a crucial part of that. With the ideal location of the school campus right across the street from our new National Soccer Development Centre, players will be able to maximize the balance between their studies and their training.”

Located in the Wesbrook Village neighbourhood at UBC, University Hill was the first Vancouver Secondary School constructed in the 21st Century and consistently ranks as one of the top academic schools in British Columbia. With a capacity of 1,000 students, it is one of the smallest secondary schools in the Vancouver School Board. University Hill’s staff and students pride themselves on a strong sense of community with parents, students, and staff working together to create and maintain high quality educational programs in a safe and supportive learning and social environment.

“We are very excited to welcome Whitecaps FC to the University Hill community,” said Alex Grant, principal of University Hill Secondary. “Both of our organizations have demonstrated a commitment to excellence and we look forward to an association that will offer outstanding opportunities in sport and in scholastics to the students we serve.”

In September 2012, the club announced the start of construction for a world-class National Soccer Development Centre (NSDC) at UBC. Whitecaps FC have partnered with the B.C. government and UBC to construct, improve, and refurbish two artificial turf fields, three grass fields, as well as a state-of-the-art fieldhouse. The multi-campus centre includes two turf fields at Simon Fraser University (SFU) and a total estimated cost of $32.5 million.

The first phase of the NSDC opened in February and has been serving as the training home for Whitecaps FC’s MLS team. The Whitecaps FC Residency program is currently in the process of moving their full-time training schedule to the NSDC.

Once complete, the NSDC will become the new training base for Whitecaps FC men’s, Residency, and Girl’s Elite teams, UBC’s soccer teams, as well as the west coast base for Canada’s men’s, women’s, and youth national teams. Beyond these teams, the facility will also devote more than 50 per cent of field time to community soccer use. This facility will be a key asset in the training and development of Whitecaps FC and BC Soccer players, as well as local coaches and referees.

With the move to University Hill, Whitecaps FC are now seeking new billet families to begin in August for the 2013-14 season. More information can be found at whitecapsfc.com/billet.